Journal-box.



No. 629,949. 7 Patented Aug. I, I899.

E. B. BROWN.

J 0 U R N A L B0 X (Application filed Aug. 10, 1898.

(No Model.)

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y W r UNITED j STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EGBERT BRAINARD BROWN, 0F MAYWOOD, ILLINGIS.

JOURNAL-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 629,949, dated August 1, 1899. Application filed August 10, 1898. Serial No. 588,269. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EGBERT BRAINARD BROWN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Maywoorhin the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have in vented a new and useful Journal-Box, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in journal-boxes, and is primarily designed to improve the construction of the journabboxes of railway and street cars and the like, but will be understood to be applicable in other situations with advantageous results.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and will be fully understood from the following detailed descrip-' tion when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation, with parts in longitudinal section, of a journal-box provided with my improvements, showing more particularly the manner of removing the follower. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the box. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on line i 4: of Fig. Figs. 5 and 6 are details of the gasket or packing-ring.

In said drawings, A designates a journalbox which in this instance is made in a form suitable for railway-car and similar journals and is provided with the usual bearing-brass A and wedge A At its inner end this box is apertured at a to admit the axle B, while its opposite or outer end is closed by a tight-fitting cover A The latter is desirably made in two sections, the lower section a of which is secured to the box by bolts a while its upper section a is secured at its upper edge by similar bolts a and at its lower edge by. beingrabbeted to fit in behind the correspondiugly-rabbeted upper edge of the lower secing out between them, and the upper section is desirably fitted close enough to the lower section and to the box to prevent the entrance of dust, any suitable form of packing being to this end used in the joints, if found neces* sary. Both the lower and upper sections of the cover are also shown as strengthened by ribs a and a, respectively, to prevent their buckling under the strain placed upon them by the pressure of the follower-bolts hereinafter to be described.

To prevent any leakage of oil through the aperture (1 around the axle at the inner end of the .box and to prevent the entrance of dust at this point, the end wall of the box is pro= vided on its inner side with a concave annular recess a",1within which an annular gasket or packingring U is held by an annular follower D. The gasket 0 (shown in detail in Fig. 6) is made of a suitable rubber or other composition capable of resisting the action of oil and has convex edges'on its outer side to fit the concave annularrecess a7, its opposite side being left flat to afford an ample bearingsurface for the follower D. The gasket is apertured at c for the passage of the axle and in its upper portion is cut through diagonally, as shown at 0, so that when forced into its concave seat by the follower it will close up and hug the shaft so tightly as to prevent any leakage of oil or entrance of dust.

To provide for the relative downward movement of the box which occurs as the bearing wears, the gasket is made of increased width in its lower portion 0 so that instead of being round in its exterior outline it is somewhat elliptical, as better shown in Fig. 6, the concave recess or seat a bein g also made elliptical to correspond. 7

The follower D is of the same general outline as the gasket 0 and is similarly apertu red at d for the passage of the axle or shaft; but its said aperture is made larger in diameter than the shaft, so that the follower fits loosely around the latter. It is made flat on that side which contacts with the gasket and on its opposite side is shownas provided in its upper portion with a semi-annularstrengthening-rib d. The follower is forced against the gasket by bolts l), which extend through and have a screw-thread engagement with the lower section a of the cover, their outer ends being squared for the application of a wrench thereto and being provided with jam-nuts d ,by which they may be locked into position after being tightened up to clamp the follower against the gasket. Said bolts are shown as three in number, one being arranged at each side of the journal in position to engage the follower about midway of the height of the latter and the third being placed centrally below the journal, so that it engages the lower margin of the follower. In this instance said lower margin of the follower is formed with a downwardly-projecting lug CF, and the third bolt is placed close to the bottom of the box in position to bear against this lug. This third bolt is particularly relied on to effect a sufficient compression of the gasket to force it into its concave seat below the axle and compel it to close up tightly about the lower part of the latter, where leakage is most likely to occur. Suitable depressions or concavities within which the ends of the clampingbolts can seat themselves are desirably provided in the follower at its points of engagement with the bolts. Deeper recesses or sockets extending inwardly at an angle to the surface of the follower are also herein shown as providednear said lower ends of the rib d to receive the points of a hooked rod R, as better. shown in Fig. 1 at CF, and enable the follower to be withdrawn from its normal position at the inner end of the box.

The oil-tight construction of journal-box thus described enables the oil to be supplied in considerable quantities at a time without any danger of waste through leakage or through its becoming foul with dust or dirt. The oil may be supplied by removing the upper section of the cover A but an additional oil-opening E, which may be conveniently closed by a removable screw-plug, is desirably provided in the upper part of the box to enable the oil to be poured in without requiring such removal of the cover, and a similar opening E in the bottom of the box enables the oil to be drained off at any time, if desired.

It will be understood, as hereinbefore stated, that while particularly designed for railway journal-boxes the improvements set forth are equallyintended for usein any other situation to which they may be found applicable and that various changes in the minor details of construction may be made without involving any departure from the invention claimed.

I claim as my invention- 1. A journal-box comprising a main casing closed at one end and havingits opposite end wall apertured for the entrance of the axle and provided with a concave annular recess in its inner face around said aperture, an annular split gasket fitting said concave recess within the box, an annular follower within the box bearing against said gasket, and screw-bolts extending into the box through its opposite end and bearing against the follower within the box to force the gasket into its concave recess and cause it to close up around the axle, substantially as described.

2. A journal-box comprisingamain casing closed at one end and having its opposite end wall apertured for the entrance of the axle and provided with a concave recess in its inner face around the apertured end wall, an annular split gasket made convex on one side to fit in said concave recess and made fiat on its opposite or inner side, an annular follower within the box having a flat side engaging the flat inner side of said gasket, and screwbolts extending into the box through its opposite end and bearing against the follower within the box, one on each side of and one below the axle, to force the gasket into its concave seat and cause it to close up about the axle, substantially as described.

3. A journal-box comprisinga main casing closed at one end and having its opposite end wall apertured for the entrance of the axle and provided with a concave annular recess of generally elliptical outline formed in its inner face around said aperture, an annular split gasket of similar elliptical outline pro vided with an eccentric aperture for the passage of the axle and fitting in said concave recess within the box with its wider portion beneath the axle, a follower of similar outline engaging the gasket within the box, and screw-bolts inserted through the opposite end of the box and bearing against the follower within the box, substantially as described.

4. A journal-box comprising a main casing provided at one end with a tight-fitting cover consisting of a lower section and an independently-removable upper section, and said box having its opposite end wall apertured for the entrance of the axle, and provided with an annular recess surrounding said aperture, an annular packingsurrounding the axle within the box and fitting within said recess, an annular follower within the box in contact with said packing, and screw-bolts inserted through the lower section of the cover and bearing against the follower to force the same against the packing, substantially as described.

5. A journal-box comprising a main casing closed at one end and having its opposite end wall apertured for the entrance of the journal and provided in its inner face with a concave recess surrounding said aperture, a packing-ring, an annular follower within the box in contact with said packing-ring, screw-bolts entering through the opposite end of the box and bearing against said follower withinthe box to force the packing into its recess and cause it to close upabout the axle, there'being sockets in the follower adapted to receive the point of a hook to permit the withdrawal of the follower, substantially as described.

EGBERT BRAINARD BROWN. Witnesses:

HENRY M. ASHETON, WM. S. BRINSLER.

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